Transgression Severity and Forgiveness: Different Moderators for Objective and Subjective Severity

The current investigation examines insider/subjective and outsider/objective perspectives on forgiveness. Two hundred and thirty-two undergraduates in dating relationships were asked to describe situations in which they had been hurt by their romantic partners. Both subjective and objective ratings of event severity predicted forgiveness. In addition, rejection sensitivity proved consequential in moderating the impact of objective severity whereas responsibility attributions moderated the impact of subjective severity ratings. These results suggest the need to adopt a more complex model of forgiveness, and that as researchers develop increasingly sophisticated interventions to promote forgiveness, it will be important to consider both objective and subjective influences.